Lyle Lynell Goehring
December 10, 1946 ~ August 9, 2025
Lyle L. Goehring, 78, Sioux Falls, SD, passed away on Saturday, August 9, 2025, at the Helping Hands Assisted Living facility in Brandon.
A Celebration of Life will be held from 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Friday, August 15, 2025, at Heartland Funeral Home, Brandon. The Funeral service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Burial will be at 2 p.m. at the South Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Sioux Falls.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Lyle has always expressed appreciation for the Veteran community, both the medical community who cared for him, and the social community among whom he made many friends. Condolences may be sent to Lynn Goehring, 202 N. 52nd Ave., Greeley, CO, 80634
Lyle Lynell Goehring was born on December 10, 1946, in Freeman, SD to Benjamin and Idella (Mettler) Goehring. A younger brother, Lynn, joined the family on July 30, 1949. Lyle was baptized and confirmed at the Johannestal Reformed Church in rural Freeman by Rev. William Korn. This church moved to Menno and was renamed the Zion Reformed Church of which he was a member for many years.
Lyle grew up in Freeman, attended school there, and graduated from high school in 1965. He was active in athletics and played the trumpet for many years in the school band. Lyle always had an interest in the newspaper business even as a child. He was known to stand outside the window of the Freeman Courier Office and watch the editor of the Freeman Courier, J.J. Mendel, work on the linotype machine. Whenever the family would travel to other towns, Lyle would ask to get a copy of the local newspaper. This interest in journalism led Lyle to enroll in the program at South Dakota State University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1970. He was drafted into the Army shortly after his graduation from SDSU and served for 2 years during the Vietnam era. He was deployed to Berlin, Germany, where he was assigned to work as a reporter and writer for the STARS AND STRIPES newspaper.
Following his discharge from the Army, Lyle moved back to Freeman and began working for Arden Dewald at the Menno Livestock Auction. He frequently offered a helping hand to various people in the community. In his spare time, he enjoyed watching various sporting events, especially the SDSU Jackrabbits. Golf was his favorite participation sport, especially when he could play with his cousin Dale.
Lyle is survived by his brother Lynn (Joyce) Goehring of Greeley, CO, and their three children, Ryan (Natasha) Goehring of Gahanna, OH, Aaron (Ayumi) Goehring of Rota, Spain, and Jenna (Aaron) Haller of Greeley, CO; aunts, Gertrude Mettler of Menno and Dorothea Proudy of Sioux Falls; special friend, Gerri Schultz of Sioux Falls; and many cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin and Idella.
Lynn, Joyce, and Gerri:
We extend our condolences to each of you on the death of Lyle. He was part of our Dewald family for decades when he was employed by our dad (Arden) and grandfather (Arnold) at Menno Livestock Auction. He did not just work at MLA, but also with us in Freeman and anything else that was asked of him: feeding the livestock and fixing fences around our stockyards; mowing all of our lawns; painted our houses and fences many times through the years; washed the outside windows of my grandparent’s home regularly; helped clean out the homes of many of our deceased relatives; and helped pack the truck every Fall when I went off to college at SDSU and unloaded every Spring when I returned home. And when Steve went to SDSU, Lyle repeated the annual tradition….for a total of 10 years! 😉 While he never complained about the many tasks he did working for my dad and grandpa, Lyle did express thankfulness when we graduated and he no longer had to help pack and unpack our moving trucks! 😉
Our dad had SDSU football season tickets at the 50 yard line and Lyle loved going to the SDSU football games either with our dad or Lyle’s cousin Dale. Of all the men who worked for our family, Lyle was the only one our mother allowed into our home….why? Because she said he was always well kept, his clothes were always clean, and he had nice cologne.
Lynn, you were the best brother Lyle could have ever had. You looked after him during the roller coaster of life and regularly communicated with our dad about Lyle.
Gerri, you were the best gift that could have ever been brought into Lyle’s life! He was able to finally love a woman in the later years of his life and his life was changed forever.
With fondness and appreciation for Lyle’s place in our family,
The family of Arden and Arnold Dewald
Dr. Lori Dewald, Delmar, MD
Steve Dewald, Broken Arrow, OK